Hinged oar lock



July 10, 1951 N. BJORK 2,559,929

HINGED OAR LOCK Filed Dec; 19, 1947 jViZa jy 'ai k INVENTOR I BY 1 l p I a ATTORNEYS Patented July 10, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HINGED .OAR LOCK Nils Bjork, Battle Lake, Minn.

Application December 19, 1947, Serial N0. 792,766

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to an oar lock, and more particularly, refers to an oar lock of novel design embodying means for preventing slipping of the oar from the yoke of the lock, this being a common and dangerous occurrence in the case of conventional devices of this type.

It is well known that there has been an increasing number of casualties amon fishermen throughout the United States and Canada, due to such occurrences as mentioned immediately above. This 'fact has created a demand for an oar lock which will be wholly safe, a demand which, it might be noted, is evidenced by growing sentiment for remedial legislation which, if enacted, would require the use of oar locks having safety means thereon. Both inexperienced and experienced rowers would, as will be seen, be greatly benefitted by the use of a safety type oar lock, and many dangerous accidents would be prevented.

Oar locks have been devised in the past including safety features designed to prevent loss of an oar, but I have found that these have various disadvantages which have prevented any widespread use of the locks. Some of these are not adjustable to fit oars of varying diameters, others require special mounting, and still others are unusually complicated and expensive in manufacture.

I have had in mind, then, the provision of an oar lock which will be adjustable to fit and hold oars of varying diameter up to and including a differential to the extent of approximately one inch, in the present instance. This would encompass the great majority of oars presently in use. The device could, of course, be enlarged as desired, in the manufacture thereof.

It has been a further important object to provide an oar lock which will not only be adjustable as stated, but which will permit the necessary adjustments to be made swiftly and with ease, the device being of unusually simple construction in this regard.

Still another important object is to provide a device of the type stated which can be transferred from boat to boat, and requires no special mounting, the oar lock being proportioned to fit in the recesses used by conventional locks.

Still another important object is to provide an oar lo'ck which, though readily adjustable to fit oars of different size, nevertheless clamps tightly against the oar, preventing longitudinal slippage thereof.

Still another important object is to provide an oar lock which will not interfere in any way the structed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is an edge view, taken from the lef-t of Figure l.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the refer.- ence character 5 designates the stem, this being formed in the manner of any conventional stem, so as to be capable of being removably inserted in a standard socket. The oar lock is .thus made interchangeable, and can be removed readily so as to be placed on another boat or. stored away as desired.

Integral with the stem 5 at its upper end is a yoke 5, and this has formed in the upper ends of its arms oppositely inclined openings 1.

Loosely pivoted in the openings 1 are pins 8, formed intermediate their ends with collars 9 that constitute spacers. The inner ends of the pins 8 are fixedly connected to a lower ring section l0, and it is thus seen that the lower ring section is permitted swinging movement relative to the yoke, as will be desirable during normal rowing operations.

One end of the lower ring section is extended upwardly as at H, while the other end is bent outwardly to provide a tongue l2. The upwardly extended end is formed with a transverse slot l2, receiving loosely the curved tongue [3 formed on one end of the upper ring section M. The tongue I3, as clearly shown in Figure 1, is inturned over the top of the lower ring section, and thus, a hinge connection is defined which permits adjustment of the upper ring section relative to the lower ring section within an unusually large range, so as to accommodate cars of varying diameters. Yet, the connection is such as to prevent any accidental detachment of the two sections.

upper ring section has been moved to the position illustrated, for instance, in Figure 1, a wing nut 18 can be used to hold the parts assembled in properly adjusted relation.

The bolt H can be fixedly connected at its head to tongue [2, or it can be removable on disassembly of the parts, if desired. In any event, when the lower ring section is mounted upon the yoke 6 as illustrated, the bolt I] still could not fall out, even on removal of the wing nut 18, because it would be engaged by the end of the adjacent yoke arm.

In use, an car, not shown, is placed within the ring, and the upper ring section l4 swung upon the bolt IT. The wing nut I8 can then be tightened, with the result that the oar will be tightly grasped between the two ring sections. Not only is it impossible for the oar to slip out of the car look, but additionally, longitudinal movement of the oar relative to the lock is prevented. Yet, it is easily possible to feather the oar, by loosening of the wing nut 18. It is understood that the wing nut [3 can be tightened to any extent desired, so that it may be left sufliciently loose to permit feathering, while yet preventing accidental longitudinal slippage of the oar.

, From the above, it is believed that it will be apparent that an oar lock constructed in accordance with the invention will be wholly safe during use, while yet permitting a wide range of adjustment for oars of different sizes. The car lock is readily removable from the boat, and can be constructed with a minimum of expense.

In connection with the use of the car look in a manner whereby it will accommodate oars of different sizes, it is to be noted that the substantially semi-circular medial portion of the lower ring section [9 defines an oar-supporting shoulder 19 at its point of intersection with the tongue [2. It is to be noted, in this connection, that where the oar is of a diameter no greater than or smaller than the diameter of the semicircular medial portion of the lower ring section, the oar will seat-fully in the semi-circular portion, and the shallowly arched upper ring section is adjustable downwardly to engage the car and clamp it securely in place. However, where the car is of a greater diameter than the Cir diameter of the lower ring section, it will not fit fully into the lower ring section, but rather, will be engaged at one point on its circumference by the shoulder l9, which will still efiectively keep the oar substantially centered in the lower ring section, the oar still being engageable by the shallowly arched upper ring section and being capable of being readily clamped in place.

What is claimed is:

An oar lock including a yoke; a lower ring section integrally formed with a semi-circular medial portion embraced by the yoke, an end portion extending vertically and upwardly from one end of said semicircular portion, and with its opposite end portion extending laterally and outwardly from the other end of the semi-circular portion to provide a tongue defining an oar-supporting shoulder at its point of intersection with the semi-circular portion; downwardly inclined pivot pins extending from the ends of the semi-circular portion below said end portions and loosely journaled in the yoke; an upper ring section of substantially shallower curvature than the lower section and loosely hinged at one end to the first-named end portion, the upper ring section being formed integrally at its opposite end with an outwardly extended tongue overlying the tongue of the lower section; a bolt carried by one of the tongues, there being an opening formed in the other tongue receiving the bolt; and a nut for the bolt constituting means for separably and adjustably connecting the tongues, said shoulder being disposed at a location where it will engage an car of greater diameter than the diameter of said semi-circular portion.

NILS BJORK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 598,847 Boak et a1. Feb. 8, 1898 1,893,110 Startz Jan. 3, 1933 

